Boiler Layup

Market Application Publication

Background:
Boiler cycling (i.e. startup and shutdown)
is more common in todays challenging
business environment, primarily due to
fluctuating power demand, instability of
fuel prices and volatile energy demand.
As cycling increases, proper layup of
your Heat Recovery Steam Generator
(HRSG) becomes much more critical.
Problems associated with improper
boiler layup include corrosion and pitting on both the gas & water sides of
the HRSG, maintenance issues, startup
delays and water chemistry delays.
Nitrogen is an essential tool in helping to
alleviate these issues, and has become
the preferred technology since it doesnt
introduce foreign chemicals to the boiler.
An on demand nitrogen generator, which
separates nitrogen and oxygen from a
compressed air supply, can often be the
most cost effective way to supply this
nitrogen. Other uses of nitrogen at power
plants include purging natural gas lines,
blanketing demin water tanks, and supplying gas seals on natural gas compressors.

Features and Benefits:

The price of on-demand nitrogen is
constant. Gas-supplier nitrogen is
subject to pricing increases, rental
agreements, hazmat fees, delivery
surcharges, local & state taxes, etc.
A nitrogen generator offers long term
price stability.
Your cost increases based on usage
with bulk, dewar or cylinder nitrogen. Costs decrease as usage hours
increase with a nitrogen generator.

Nitrogen has a very low boiling point,

and is continuously evaporating when
supplied as liquid in bulk or dewars.
That can add up to thousands of dollars of wasted gas.
A nitrogen generator eliminates the
contracts required from bulk gas suppliers. No more automatic renewals,
automatic increases or 1-year written
notice for contract termination.
Ease of installation. Pipe in compressed air and pipe out Nitrogen.

Contrast this with the installation requirements for a bulk tank, including
a concrete pad, fence and significant
square footage.
Complete start up and testing procedure
at the factory prior to delivery.
Very little maintenance or monitoring
required once system is up and running.
Simple and straightforward operation.
Proven technology with numerous references available. Over 50,000 successful
generator installations worldwide.

Application:
A nitrogen blanket can be used in both
the wet & dry layup of a HRSG. During
wet layup, which is typically used for
outages lasting <30 days, nitrogen is
used to purge and blanket the steam
spaces, often including the superheaters and reheaters. To minimize
the amount of nitrogen required, it is
best to inject it when drum pressure
is between 2-5 psig. During dry layup,
which is typically used for outages lasting > 30 days or shorter outages where
freezing could occur, it is extremely
important to thoroughly drain the unit
and completely dry all surfaces. This
helps to prevent corrosion, and will
minimize issues during startup. A
5 psig nitrogen blanket (often through
the drum vent) is the preferred method
to ensure that surfaces remain dry and
oxygen does not enter the unit.

Case Study:
In many combined cycle facilities,
nitrogen is used during both short term
and long term boiler layups. In a wet
(short-term) layup, the HRSG is capped
with nitrogen to maintain pressure
between cycles. During dry (longterm) layup, the HRSG is purged and
blanketed with nitrogen to protect the
boiler tubes and other sensitive equipment from moisture. Nitrogen was
being used in this fashion at Salt Valley
Generating Station Lincoln Electric
System.
Boiler cycling and inadequate boiler
layup caused corrosion and oxygen
pitting related issues that produced
delays at startup. These issues can
produce leaks, corrosion fatigue (CF)
and stress corrosion cracking (SCC).
Proper boiler layup, utilizing nitrogen
cylinders to blanket the HRSG was also

becoming cost prohibitive. To solve

these issues, Salt Valley Generating
Station installed a Parker Hannifin nitrogen generator for use during HRSG
shutdown.
The Parker Hannifin nitrogen generator, designed to deliver a steady flow
of gas at 99.9% purity, provided many
improvements at Salt Valley. It eliminated the requirement for nitrogen
cylinders, which can be expensive
(on a cost/cf basis) and difficult to
move within a facility. Inspection of
the HRSG revealed that oxygen pitting and corrosion was minimized or
completely halted. Startup times were
decreased by 60 minutes during wet
layup and 6-8 hours during dry layup.
This reduced the corresponding
startup costs by as much as $45,000,
depending on the cost of Natural Gas.

Specifications and Ordering Information:

Standard Package Includes:

Nitrogen
Outlet

Fully enclosed cabinet with casters

High efficiency coalescing and sterile air filters
Oxygen analyzer available
High oxygen alarms and dry contacts available
Stand by mode

Air
Inlet

Purity easily adjusted between 95%-99.999%

with flow control valve
Outlet pressure regulator
60 gal. vertical nitrogen storage tank
Nitrogen
Surge Tank
NST 101 (60 gal)

MB Series Nitrogen Generator

Principal Specifications - Models DB5, DB-10, DB-15, DB-20

Model Number

DB-5

DB-10

DB-15

DB-20

Recommended Inlet Pressure

110 psig (7.5 barg)

110 psig (7.5 barg)

110 psig (7.5 barg)

110 psig (7.5 barg)

Air Quality

Clean air without contaminants Clean air without contaminants Clean air without contaminants Clean air without contaminants

Temperature

80F (27C)

80F (27C)

80F (27C)

80F (27C)

Electrical Requirements

120 VAC / 60Hz

120 VAC / 60Hz

120 VAC / 60Hz

120 VAC / 60Hz

Maximum Pressure

140 PSIG (9.7 barg)

140 PSIG (9.7 barg)

140 PSIG (9.7 barg)

140 PSIG (9.7 barg)

Temperature Range

60F - 105F (15.5C-40.5C)

60F - 105F (15.5C-40.5C) 60F - 105F (15.5C-40.5C)

60F - 105F (15.5C-40.5C)

Nitrogen Dewpoint

-58F (-50C)

-58F (-50C)

-58F (-50C)

-58F (-50C)

Commercially Sterile
Yes Yes Yes Yes
Filtration Efficiency

99.99% @ 0.01um

99.99% @ 0.01um

99.99% @ 0.01um

99.99% @ 0.01um

Suspended Liquids
None None None None
Ambient Pressure Atmospheric Atmospheric Atmospheric Atmospheric
Generator Cabinet Dimensions

28.5L x 32.25D x 78H

72 cm x 82 cm x 198 cm

28.5L x 32.25D x 78H

72 cm x 82 cm x 198 cm

28.5L x 51.5D x 78H

72 cm x 131 cm x 198 cm

28.5L x 51.5D x 78H

72 cm x 131 cm x 198 cm

Inlet

1/2 NPT

1/2 NPT

1 NPT

1 NPT

Outlet

1/2 NPT

1/2 NPT

3/4 NPT

3/4 NPT

N2 Storage Tank Size

60 Gal. (227 L)

60 Gal. (227 L)

60 Gal. (227 L)

60 Gal. (227 L)

N2 Storage Tank Dimensions

24"D x 54"H

24"D x 54"H

24"D x 54"H

24"D x 54"H

Shipping Weight

886 lbs

1084 lbs

1584 lbs

1810 lbs

Ordering Information - Models DB5, DB-10, DB-15, DB-20

N2 Flow Rates (SCFH)

Dual Bed N2 Generator with O2 Analyzer

DBO-5

DBO-10

DBO-15

DBO-20

99.9 365 730 1095 1460

Dual Bed N2 Generator w/o O2 Analyzer

DB-5

DB-10

DB-15

DB-20

99.6* 475 950 1426 1901

Maint. Kit for N2 Generator with O2 Analyzer

MKDBO-5

MKDBO-5

MKDBO-15

MKDBO-15

99.5 512 1024 1536 2048

Maint. Kit for N2 Generator w/o O2 Analzer

MKDB5

MKDB5

MKDB15

MKDB15

99

618

1235

1853

2470

Oxygen Sensor

72695 72695 72695 72695

98

770

1541

2311

3081

% N2

DB-5

DB-10

DB-15

DB-20

*Recommended purity per ASTM CRTD-66.

How to Size a N2 Generator for Boiler Layup

The technique for sizing a nitrogen
generator for boiler layup is at the
discretion of the boiler operator. Here
is a recommended technique that has
found success in most applications.
Once the turbine shuts down, there is
a period of time required for the HRSG
temperature and pressure to decrease
to 3-5 psig (0.2 - 0.34 bar). Once pressure and temperature stabilize (this
varies from site to site and is generally
estimated to be about 150F (66C)

and 50 psig (3.4 bar), the operator will

begin to add nitrogen. Nitrogen will
continue to be supplied to the HRSG
until the pressure reaches 3-5 psig
(0.2 0.34 bar). A pressure of 3-5 psig
(0.2 0.34 bar) will be maintained inside the unit so that no outside oxygen
can infiltrate. Dropping the pressure to
0 would allow air to enter and should
be avoided.

The ASME specification CRTD-66 for nitrogen within the boiler is 99.6% (0.4% O2).
Sometimes lower purities have been used depending on the experience of the site operator.
Therefore, to size a nitrogen generator determine:
1. How long does it take for the pressure to drop from 50 psig (3.4 bar) to
5 psig (0.34 bar)? (typically 24-72 hours)
2. What is the volume of the headspace?
To determine the flow of nitrogen, divide the headspace volume (2) by the time (1).
For example, an 11,000 cubic foot HRSG that drops to 5 psig in 24 hours would use
a flow of:
Flow = 11,000/24 = 460 scfh
The DB5 at 99.6% is rated for 475 scfh and would be the ideal size for this
application.

2009, 2015 Parker Hannifin Corporation

MAP Boiler Layup-D

Parker Hannifin Corporation

Filtration and Separation Division
242 Neck Road, P.O. Box 8223
Haverhill, MA 01835-0723
phone 800 343 4048 or 978 858 0505
fax
978 478 2501
www.parkern2.com

Reprinted 05/2015